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June 05, 2014

Kickstarter: David Harrington R&D Fund

The David Harrington Research & Development Fund was created in 2006 to provide Kronos with funds to fully realize projects that might not otherwise be possible. When it is your mission to create and perform groundbreaking work, sometimes you need to act quickly to make projects happen now, rather than lose an opportunity.

Over the past eight years, the Kronos founder’s R&D Fund has commissioned nearly 50 new works and arrangements, purchased new instruments, and much more. After commissioning a myriad of new works during our 40th anniversary season, the “little piggy bank” is empty and David’s R&D Fund needs to be replenished! $25,000 will help fund two new works including a new piece by longtime collaborator Derek Charke, and two new arrangements in the 2014/15 season.

Derek Charke’s Dear Creator, help us return to the centre of our hearts is one of the four works we hope to be able to make possible through the R&D Fund next season. The timely and relevant piece, which premieres March 17, 2015 at Carnegie Hall, focuses on the vast and controversial Athabasca tar sands of Alberta, Canada.

During Kronos’ 40th anniversary season, the R&D Fund helped realize works like Bryce Dessner’s 40 Canons (which premiered at the Barbican on May 13, 2014), David T Little’s AGENCY (which premiered at University Musical Society in Ann Arbor on, January 18, 2014), and arrangements of works by Geeshie Wiley (featured on NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concert - watch) and Orlando “Cholo” Valderrama (a piece premiered for Kronos’ first engagement in Colombia in Sept 2013.)

Since the R&D Fund began, it has supported pieces such as Jon Rose’s Music from 4 Fences, in which Kronos creates music using barbed wire fences (watch) and Tod Machover’s Chomsky Suite with special guest Noam Chomsky. It also has allowed the quartet to pursue further work with young composers Kronos has met through its residencies and other education & community programs.

As a non-profit charitable organization, the Kronos Quartet / Kronos Performing Arts Association relies on financial contributions from individuals, foundations, corporations and government agencies in order to commission composers and perform new work at home and around the world.